


A Day at the Beach

by princelink



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
Genre: Angst, Character Study, Depression, M/M, Male Sheik, POV Second Person, Panic Attacks, Suicidal Thoughts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-09
Updated: 2019-09-09
Packaged: 2020-10-13 11:48:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20582003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/princelink/pseuds/princelink
Summary: The Hero of Time spends some time at the Great Bay Coast, and thinks about the past.Twelve hours remain.





	A Day at the Beach

**Author's Note:**

> i need to preface this by saying im a complete and utter idiot who wrote the whole thing in one sitting, completely sleep deprived. only upon rereads did i notice my mistake. in my defense, its been many years since i last played majoras mask. ... then again, that doesnt change the fact that im a dumbass
> 
> that being said, please suspend your disbelief and pretend the moon falls at twelve am instead of six am. thank you

** _Twelve hours remain._ **

The sand is coarse against your feet. You shuffle in your spot, pinching the grains with your toes and letting go. You’ve taken your boots off, and you elect to throw them to the side without a care. You can get them later.

There are no beaches in Hyrule, and the only place one could even find sand lay in the desert. That accursed desert had nothing _ but _sand for miles upon miles. Just recalling it makes you sick. But here, the sand contrasts beautifully against the ocean, and the deep blue sea stretches as far as the eye could see. You feel at peace. It's nice.

** _Eleven hours remain._ **

Tatl stopped pestering you a while ago. You guess she gave up trying to rush you, realizing that you weren't planning on leaving anytime soon. She muttered something about giving you a break just this one time, since you beat the Great Bay Temple, before wandering off. Out of the corner of your eye, you see her... collecting seashells? Not something you'd expect her to do, but there she was, doing exactly that. You hum to yourself. Guess she needed a break too.

** _Ten hours remain._ **

The sun is hot against your skin. It could be worse, you remind yourself. You've experienced worse. For most people, the intense heat would be unbearable. But to you, it's just right. You even find it comforting. You lay on your back and soak in the warmth of the sun's rays. 

After all you'd been through, this truly is _ nothing. _

You used to enjoy sleeping. You really, really did. But ever since you set foot into the Great Deku Tree, you've been plagued with nightmares every single night. It persisted into adulthood, and only got worse with each new monstrous encounter, each new enemy faced, each new dungeon explored. And those same terrible nightmares still haunt you now, despite this body supposedly being new. Falling asleep was already hard enough; phantom pains that shouldn't exist from battles that this body didn't experience ached you constantly. Your hands twitched with fear when you lacked your sword and shield for even a second. Your eyelids would never stay shut long enough for you to find rest, always fluttering open at the slightest sound or movement around you, always scanning for an oncoming attack.

No, sleep was never easy to come by. You were always too on edge. There are only a small handful of times since you picked up a sword where you recall managing to sleep well, and that was when you were with...

...

Groaning, you shut your eyes close. The blue and cloudless sky disappears from view in an instant, replaced by the darkness beneath your eyelids. It's still nice, isn't it? Yeah, you tell yourself. This is nice. What more could you ask for?

Yet your mind can't stray from the thought of _ him_, his arms around you, the unspoken promise of protection hanging in the air. He was your pillar of strength, your haven away from it all. With him, you knew everything would be alright.

Against your will, you smile to yourself, the memory of him gradually lulling you to sleep.

** _Seven hours remain._ **

You wake up from your nap with drool on your face. Fuck. Embarrassing. You quickly wipe it away with the back of your hand and put your entire weight on your elbow, propping yourself up to look around. Nobody saw you, right? There _ wouldn't _ be anyone around to see you save for Tatl, who was nowhere in sight. 

But who knows? Maybe the Goddesses were watching over you from the Sacred Realm. You wouldn't put it past them to laugh at your misery. You were pretty sure they already did.

It was a dreamless sleep. You're thankful for that. Even good dreams could serve as bad reminders. Things you had lost, and could never get back. No matter how hard you tried, and begged, and _ pleaded_, and-

Sighing to yourself, you sit upright and stretch your arms over your head. Thinking never served you well. The sky isn't as blue as before, and the sun's position on the horizon is a lot lower now. The ticking in your heart told you what time it was: a little past five in the afternoon. 

The ticking continued. You've learnt to tune it out since discovering the ability as an adult. The Hero of Time, having an internal clock? Preposterous. It was downright distracting, and it made you far more anxious than you needed to be. But right now, you opt to let it tick on. It’s a steady rhythm that fills the silence on the beach as the gentle sea breeze flows through your hair. 

** _Six hours remain._ **

You'd not watched the sunset before. You never had the chance to. Today is the day. You seek to warm your legs up before it happens, so you finally get up after an hour of lazing around. You look around for Tatl, and make the mistake of looking behind you.

Right. You forgot about that.

The moon looms overhead, its sunken eyes bearing down upon all who dare even glance at it. It's a lot closer now, and you frown. You weren't going to fix that particular problem today, you _ know _that, yet a panicked voice in the back of your mind tells you to run and take cover. Another part of your brain urges you to face it head on right then and there, to soar back to Castle Town, as ill-prepared as you currently are.

All of it, obviously, is stupid. You are going to rest today, and you are going to relax for the first time since arriving in Termina, dammit. You turn your back to it, and do your best to ignore it.

The earth rumbles beneath you. You stomp the ground in defiance, and trudge on ahead.

You soon discover Tatl sleeping amongst the shells she had gathered earlier, and you find yourself smiling. She's always so feisty, always so impatient, it's rare to find her in moments like this. You decide to leave her alone to her well-deserved nap, since she let you do the same. After walking back to finally retrieve your boots, you take your spot next to her, doing your best not to disturb her.

She only stirs half past six. Perfect, she’s right on time. The sun had just begun to set, and the blue sky is turning orange fast. It happens so rapidly, you're afraid to even blink, lest you miss the whole thing. She settles on your shoulder without a word, just as entranced in nature as you are, and you both watch the sky turn redder and redder as the sun disappears into the sea.

As soon as the sun's gone, she flies up and declares her 'hunt' for dinner, leaving before you can get a word in. Not that you were going to say anything anyway. You instead bring your knees up to your chest, and rest your head on your arms. The sunset had been absolutely breathtaking, and you wish you could rewind time just to see it again. 

Well, you _ could_, but abusing your powers to reset time for one sunset is sure to bite you in the ass, somehow. 

The sky's turning purple now. You really loved the sky, and it's always left you awestruck. You found it amazing how it could change colors so drastically over a short period of time. Time. Blue, purple, red. Time.

_ A feeling in the heart that becomes even stronger over time. _

You suddenly think about his stark blue garments, his powerful purple magic, and his mesmerizing red eyes. You think about the promise he made to you, a promise to visit the ocean one day, together, after everything was over. A promise of hope. 

A familiar feeling of hollowness reemerges. You push it back down.

You wish you could shut the pain that came with him out of your mind, but you simply couldn't. Not every memory tied to your previous timeline was so agonizing, so why was it just _ him_?

_ It's because you miss him. _

You tell yourself to shut up. It doesn't work. You bury your head in your knees.

You tell yourself not to cry. It doesn't work, either.

** _Five hours remain._ **

By the time Tatl returns, it's half past seven. The sky's gone completely dark, and you had given extra care into making sure not a single trace of the tears you shed earlier remained.

She had collected a mountain of fruits from Goddesses's knows where, and she dumps them onto the beach in a huff. You wonder how she even dragged that back to you. She tells you to be grateful, and you shrug nonchalantly in an act of defiance. She hits you on the head with all the strength she can muster, which is, to you, basically nothing. You finally concede and thank her for both the food and for humoring you. Hands on her hips, she sticks her tongue out and blows a raspberry, which translates into _ you’re welcome _in Tatl speak.

You chew on a banana as she nibbles on a strawberry. It's much bigger than her. You point this out and she gets mad again. You laugh heartily and she pouts, but you know she understands.

** _Four hours remain._ **

You return to Mikau's grave after dinner.

You bring the remaining fruits you and Tatl couldn't eat, and place it in front of his guitar. An offering. You hope he's okay with having your leftovers. Will it be considered rude, even if you didn’t bite into it? You try not to dwell on it.

He had a strong connection to music, just as you do. Though you only knew him for a few minutes, you can't help but share a deep bond with him. You hope he feels the same way. You can't really put your finger on it, but you have a strong desire to keep his legacy alive, even if you've already helped him find peace.

The spirit within the Zora Mask gave you your own guitar, a splitting image of Mikau's. Taking one last look at your makeshift grave, you decide to practice, finding a nice rock along the beach. As uncomfortable as sitting on it was, it'll have to do. 

Tatl lays by your feet as you begin to strum.

** _Three hours remain._ **

Old memories are brought up again. You hate how easily you begin to reminisce.

Saria had given you your first instrument: an ocarina. You weren’t any good at it, but you kept playing anyways, practicing her own composition, _ Saria’s Song, _so that maybe you two could play it together sometime. 

That day never came.

...

You only learned how to properly wield the ocarina after _ he _ gave you guidance, when you became an adult. You snicker, remembering his face. Despite the cowl he wore, his disgust at your complete and utter lack of skill when playing the Song of Time was more than apparent. 

You were playing it as you left the Temple of Time, trying to get some practice in after just learning the song from Zelda (though seven years had already passed for everyone else). He immediately teleported to you and halted you in your tracks, asking if you even knew anything about music. You were a little offended, but you admitted that you knew next to nothing about it all. 

He walked you back and sat you down by the Master Sword's pedestal, declaring the start of his crash course in music and the ocarina. For someone who played the lyre instead, he was incredibly knowledgeable about your own instrument. You guessed he had to be, being your guide. He was harsh at first, but he quickly softened up to you and was incredibly patient. It made you feel warm inside. 

It _ still _ makes you feel warm inside. 

_ Practice with efficiency_, he said. He taught you how to do just that, and you hung onto every word. You wanted to impress him badly, and kept playing long after leaving the temple. And impress him you did, at the Sacred Forest Meadow. Your very first duet together. The kind crinkle around his eyes was more than enough to indicate your success.

He taught you how to play other instruments after that too, and even let you play his lyre, the _ Goddess's Harp_. He guided your hands across the strings as you plucked them, a gentle melody filling the air. 

Your guitar sits in your lap. A different instrument, but you've long since learned how to pick a new one up easily, no matter how unfamiliar you were with it. You play a song he taught you, a song without a purpose or meaning, a song that simply exists. A song he wrote himself, and a song you've associated with being quintessentially _ him_. 

You told him to name it after himself, to dub it his very own theme song. He chuckled at the suggestion, saying it was egotistical. You agreed, but asked him if he had any other suggestions. He had none, so he gave in and went along with the name.

_ If anyone asks, I'm blaming you. _His faux irritation had sent you both into hysterics.

When you finish playing, Tatl finally speaks up. She says it's a sad song. All you can do is nod.

** _Two hours remain._ **

It's getting harder to ignore the moon now. It covers so much of the sky, and it feels like it's staring right at you. Maybe it's judging you for skipping rocks across the water. You suppose you can't blame it.

Your feet are also in the water now. You wonder why you didn't do this sooner. It's incredibly cooling.

With your back turned to the moon, you look up at the night sky, sprinkled with stars. You try to compare it to the sky of Hyrule, looking to see if you can match any constellations with the ones back home. It takes you a while, but you find all of them there, albeit in different places. 

That's really just like Termina, huh? All the same faces, yet so different. Everything's the same, yet nothing is at the same time. 

You wonder if there's a counterpart of him here. You realize you don't want to find out. Ignorance is bliss, as they say.

Who knows how desperate you'd become if he existed here too. 

Saria brought you out for your first stargazing session, when you still lived in the Kokiri Forest. It was a rare treat. He was the one who taught you how to spot constellations. You both did it often.

You remember the first night fondly. He suggested the both of you make new ones together, so that's what you did. None of them made any sense, but they didn't need to. It was simply innocent fun in the midst of the chaos Ganondorf had reigned down upon Hyrule. A moment of reprieve, just for the two of you.

You try to find the one you foolishly named _ Milk_. There was no deeper meaning behind the name, and it sure didn't look like milk at all. _ Milk _was just a bunch of random stars that happened to be close to each other as you were craving the beverage in the dead of night.

You find it easily in the night sky, amongst all the other stars. You're smiling once again, yet you don't feel happy at all. Why is that?

The ground shakes again. 

** _One hour remains._ **

Tatl is telling you to leave. You keep insisting on waiting. You're not sure why.

The whole world seems to be rattling. Rocks are bouncing off the ground, leaves are falling off their branches. The moon is so close to the earth, you can barely see its mouth anymore. All you can focus on are those giant, glaring _ red _ eyes, staring into your very being.

You should be scared. But you’re not, not one bit. Instead, the lingering feeling of hollowness is the most pervasive emotion of all. 

You tug your boots on.

** _Thirty minutes remain._ **

The sky is _ red_. So is the sea. It looks like blood. Your stomach churns as you remember your first battle after becoming an adult. There were so many of them. You had no choice. You swung your blade. Repeatedly, until there wasn't a single foe standing. The blood pouring forth from all the monsters you had slain was like an ocean. This ocean. An ocean of _ red_. You wonder if you should've shown them mercy. You wept against him, overcome with crushing remorse. He cradled you in his arms and told you it was alright. You believed him. Just like everything else, you believed every word he ever told you.

You're not sure you should have, now.

** _Fifteen minutes remain._ **

Tatl won't stop bouncing around your head. You can feel the nervousness radiating off of her. You tune her out just like the ticking in your chest. You_ know _ how much time you have left, even without the incessant tick-tock of your heart. You don't want to listen to anything right now. You just want complete silence.

Silence. That’d be nice.

** _Ten minutes remain._**

The earth is quaking. Tatl is yelling. But you're too tired to leave. 

It’ll be quiet if you stay for a little bit longer.

** _Nine minutes remain._ **

Even if that spells your demise. Maybe you'd rather stay.

** _Eight minutes remain._ **

It's so much easier to give up, after all.

** _Seven minutes remain._ **

Nobody could stop you from doing so.

** _Six minutes remain._ **

You can just sit here, by the beach, and let the moon fall.

** _Five minutes remain._ **

... And just let all these people die? Would you really be okay with that?

** _Four minutes remain._ **

So _ what _ if you were being selfish. No matter what happens, even if you succeed, even if you saved everyone _ again_, you could never be happy. Today was just another _ sick _ reminder of that. Your happiness was elsewhere. Far away. Out of your reach. Completely and utterly unattainable.

** _Three minutes remain._ **

He was _ gone_. He became some _ magical princess _ and _ chased you off. _ Even though you were at his feet, choking his name out through tears and sobs, he _ sent you away_. He _ didn’t want _ you. 

Why else would he betray you so?

Did he ever even love you? 

** _Two minutes remain._ **

Tatl is shouting your name. All you can see is red. _ Red. Red. Red. _ Red, like the eyes he had. The eyes you thought loved you. But just as the colors of the sky change, those adoring red eyes turned icy blue, and played a song that would separate you two forever. 

** _One minute remains._ **

You'd been crying. You didn’t even notice until now. Tatl’s rubbing your eyes for you, no longer screaming at you to snap out of it. It occurs to you how stupid you were being. You really were being a self-centered asshole. You apologize to her profusely, and get up again. Your knees are scraped. When had you fallen? She says it's alright, just like he did, but goes on to say how she will kick your butt if you don't play the Song of Time _ right fucking now_. 

You let out a shaky breath, trying to steel your nerves, and you take your ocarina out. The Ocarina of Time. You place it against your lips, and you pause. 

You'd been thinking about him all day. Despite _ everything_, that's all you could think about. _ Everything _ reminded you of him, because you did so much together. You choke again, and struggle to hold back tears. The boom of the incoming moon drowns out your heart's ticking. How much time do you have left? Is it even enough? You can’t tell anymore. Why are you panicking so much?

The Song of Time. Right, _ The Song of Time. _ How do you play it again? You fumble to place your fingers over the right holes. The end is so, so near. Just get it right. You just need to get it _ right_.

Your vision blurs. The Sage of Time stands before you, playing the Song of Time into the ocarina you held onto for so long, the ocarina you just _ handed back _ because you thought you had placed your trust in the right place, in the right person. The song that sent you back and started your real, living nightmare. The song that tore your heart in two. That song, that song, _ that song _-

_"Oh for fuck's sake! Would you stop thinking about Sheik! He _left_ you!"_

The moon was crashing. You manage to play the song, forcing it out so fiercely you're afraid the magic's been blown right out of the ocarina. But it works. There is a bright glow around you and Tatl. Just as everything starts to truly become red, just as you witness the moon making contact with Termina, destroying everything in its wake, you're whisked away to the past once more.

* * *

** _Seventy-two hours remain._ **

The ticking isn't yours. It's from the clock tower. You blink the tears out of your eyes. Somehow, you made it. You're not sure whether to be relieved.

Tatl floats over to you, concern written all over her face.

"Link... What happened back there? Who's Sheik?"

Your throat is dry. No doubt from your last second outburst, and your panic attack induced crying. You swallow, and let out a breath. She deserves answers, but you don’t know how to give it to her.

"Someone."

She gives you a dissatisfied look, and you roll your eyes. "Look, I don't want to talk about him." 

"That doesn't mean you shouldn't."

You jolt up with annoyance, glaring daggers at her. "What do you want me to say? Look, he was someone I loved and naively thought I'd spend the rest of my life with, but it turned out that he was one big lie and I'm never going to see him again! I don't know who the man I fell in love with even is, and that alone rips me to shreds! Is that what you want to hear?"

Fuck, you can feel yourself on the brink of tears again. Crying also reminded you of him. Of Sheik. He always lent you a shoulder to cry on, and you never felt ashamed to take him up on that offer. Now all you _ can _ feel is humiliation. You look away from her, making a concerted effort to stare at the ground instead. You hope it melts away into a hole you can crawl into.

She’s just going to make fun of you. You know it. Why wouldn't she? Happily ever afters simply don't exist. They were a childish fantasy and you were an idiot to ever believe it could come true.

Tatl plops herself onto your head instead, catching you off guard.

"I'm sorry."

Confused, you gingerly pull her off your head, and hold her in your hand. You ask why she's even apologizing. She didn't do anything to you, you point out.

"Am I not allowed to feel bad for you? I may still know nothing about you and your past, but I know how much suffering you've gone through here in Termina. Despite all the shit you've had to put up with, you still seem to be hung up about what happened to you before. That's enough to tell me how traumatizing it was for you.

"I still think you're a brat, don’t forget it. ... But you can talk to me. You don't have to do this alone."

You stare. And you start laughing.

"What? What's so funny?"

Clutching your stomach with your free hand, you do your best to stop, but to no avail. You just keep laughing, and laughing, because you're just so damned surprised.

For Tatl to want to comfort you, out of all people? That's a bad sign. 

When you finally calm down, you voice this thought to her, adding, "I guess I must be pretty fucked up, huh?"

She kicks your palm, again doing nothing to actually hurt you, and crosses her hands. "No, you're just hurt. And that's okay. I... I think you just need someone to talk to. And I'm here for you. Reluctantly so, of course."

You snicker. "Sure, if you say so.” You pause, for just a moment, before speaking up again. “Hey, Tatl?"

She cocks her head. "What's up?"

"Thanks."

Tatl glows the slightest bit brighter. She's blushing. She flutters her wings, and mumbles a soft, "Don't mention it." You let her off your hand, and you finally stand on your own two feet. You do a quick check for your essentials. Sword, shield, ocarina, milk, all present. Good enough. You adjust your belt. 

You hear Tatl clearing her throat, and turn to look at her. She hovers next to you, hands behind her back. It's weird to see her hesitating so much. "You're not really the type to talk about yourself, even though I said you could. So, um..." She trails off, and you raise an eyebrow. "To not let the opportunity I've bestowed upon you go to waste, would it be alright for me to ask you a few questions?"

You snort. "What's with the politeness? This isn't like you."

She puffs her cheeks and pouts. "Well, excuse me for trying to be more sensitive! I don't know what I can or can't talk about with you at this point."

You wave your hand dismissively. "Look, if I don't want to discuss it, I'll just tell you upfront. Ask away." She narrows her eyes. "Seriously! I'm fine now."

"No you're not."

You grumble. "Maybe I’m not. But I haven't been okay in a long ass time. It's just par of the course at this point. I live with my past, I think about said past too much, I have a mental breakdown, I pretend it didn't happen. Rinse and repeat."

Now Tatl’s mad. Really mad. "That's not healthy at all!" She sighs, the frustration leaving as quickly as it came. "Really, Link. I may not ever say this, but... I care about you a lot. And I want you to talk to me. We have to face our demons in order to overcome them. I'm not certain it'll make you feel better, but it's worth a shot. ... Right?"

Sheepishly, you rub your neck. "Right." 

You avert your gaze once more. You watch the light streaming in from the door that's always just slightly ajar. You can hear people running about outside. You know the moon watches from above. 

"I guess... I'll start with Sheik then," you mutter. "Since I've already mentioned him." You see the worry in her eyes. "I'll be fine, seriously. I got it out of my system while the moon was crashing. So I’m good to talk about him.

"It's a really long ass story though. We better walk and talk." You approach the wooden doors and push them slightly open, waiting for Tatl to catch up. 

"Well, we have a bit of time, right?" she offers. In your head, you disagree. After all, you remind yourself, the flow of time is always cruel. You chuckle. It still hurts, but you’ll try. That’s all you can do.

"Yeah, we've got time." You open the door fully, and you stop yourself from squinting at the sudden burst of light streaming into the clock tower. Recovering, you continue, "Let's start with that song I played earlier. It's called 'Sheik's Theme'. And I've been told that I'm to blame for its terrible name." 

Maybe talking about this _ will _ help. Sheik always did say to trust your instincts, and right now you feel like actually telling someone about what happened. You're still not sure how to feel about him, after all this time. You don't know whether he loved you as he said he did, and you don't know whether he meant to hurt you like he did. Despite it all, you really do miss him. Undeniably so. You know you'll just have to live with that. Maybe you can finally learn how to.

You step into Clock Town, Tatl by your side. You begin to tell her about the song you played.

** _Seventy-one hours remain._ **

**Author's Note:**

> for the record, im still sleep deprived. its four am as im typing this.
> 
> i was quite hesitant to post this, but i already drew an epilogue of sorts for this story. in order to not let those efforts go to waste, im putting this up.
> 
> you can read that comic on any of my art accounts. unlike this story, sheik is actually present. so check it out if you want to. ... god i hope these hyperlinks work  
[instagram](https://instagram.com/princelink)  
[twitter](https://twitter.com/princeyams/status/1171159781093957632?s=20)  
[tumblr](https://princeyam.tumblr.com/post/187605811677/a-dumb-comic-which-will-make-no-sense-without-my)  
im not much of a writer, but i hope you enjoyed it. thanks for reading


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